Homeless Seventeen
by The Last Riddle
Summary: Andy is having trouble with his clients disappearing so he asks Steph and Ranger to help. Can they find the baddie who's causing trouble for Andy before something happens to Andy? Relaxed Babe. Joe friendly.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, I'm back! I just can't stay away. As always, I'm not Janet and I only own my OCs. Thanks!**

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Trenton, New Jersey is my hometown. It isn't pretty, it doesn't smell good and it isn't for the tourists but I can't seem to get away. I've left it a few times, but Trenton has always pulled me back. It has that effect on people. I grew up in Chambersburg, commonly known as the 'burg, which is in the East Ward of the city. Trenton is split up into four sections creatively named for their geography. North, East, South and West. The East Ward is the smallest section and the West Ward has the new neighborhoods and the 'burbs. The South Ward is the most culturally diverse, mostly made up of Latinos, Italians and blacks. Then, there's the North Ward. As a kid, I wasn't allowed in the North side.

**The North Ward is the oldest part of town and it used to be nice. It was the hub of the middle class and the home to the most beautiful, historic buildings. It was a magnet for tourists. Then the riots happened in 1968. In the days after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, the North side was torn apart by the race riots. Over 200 buildings were fire bombed and vandalized. Hundreds of people were arrested and Trenton was never the same. The North Ward was dead.**

**It became the most crime ridden part of the city. The area that used to house the middle class became slums and a good share of Trenton's oldest buildings were torn down. It's the center of urban decay. Pushers and prostitutes on every other corner and squatters inhabiting the deserted buildings. This is Andy's neighborhood. Andrew Carson is one of my best friends and a street lawyer. A street lawyer's job is help the helpless. He is an advocate for the homeless, the poor and the abused. For nearly a year, he has worked for the streets.**

**Within that year, he has convinced the mayor and the City Board to build shelters, soup kitchens and youth centers all over Trenton. He has reorganized the low income housing to make it more available to the people that need it the most and made the city enforce code to protect against the slum lords. He's an optimist, but he's an optimist that gets shit done. In a nutshell, he would be put up for early sainthood if he was a Catholic.**

**He told me when this idea to become the city's guardian angel sparked in his brain that he wanted to help people before they get to my level. I am a bounty hunter. It goes by several different names, but it has the same meaning it did back in the old west. I bring bond skippers back to justice. Bring 'um in dead or alive. However, they usually frown on the dead ones. Too much paperwork.**

**As far as bounty hunters go, I'm kind of in the middle. I have good instincts and like I said, this is my town. I know it well. I know the people and I know the terrain. This kind of balances out the insane situations that I get myself into. Its not my fault! Really. See, I lose a car every few months, but I always get my man. Fair trade, right? Yeah, Ranger shakes his head at that, too.**

**Ranger's mother named him Ricardo Carlos Manoso. He is about as street as they get and he probably knows Trenton better than I do, just different parts if you get my drift. I figure if I can shock an ex Ranger, then my karma must be bad. Ranger is my roommate, in a way. We coinhabit my apartment, we eat together, we share my bed and sometimes we do some very unroommate-like things. It's a good relationship, even if my mother constantly tells me that we are living in sin and that the only way to know if he loves me is to force him down the aisle.**

**I disagree. We have both been married before and my marriage ended about ten minutes after I found my then husband on the dining room table with the neighborhood skank. I affectionately call him the Dick.**

**Ranger once told me on a stakeout that he got his girlfriend pregnant on leave. He did the right thing, married her to give the baby his name then he cut her loose so they could live their own lives. He supports them and his ex-wife is happily married.**

**He has been there for me since the beginning. I needed someone to show me the ropes and he stepped in and after trying to put some sense in my curly head, he became my mentor. His number is one on my speed dial. And right now, he is proving what a good mentor he is. We have been sitting in this abandoned house for three hours watching for my skip. It's March and neither of us thought it would take this long.**

**Ranger was leaning against a wall, crouched on one leg with the other one stretched out in front watching out the window. I was sitting on the other side of the window, shivering my butt off. Like I said, he's a Ranger. I used to buy and sell underwear for a company. We all have our uses.**

**We had been silent for half an hour when my cell started buzzing in my pocket. Ranger raised an eyebrow and never turned his sight from the window. I dug into my coat quickly.**

**"Yo." I tried to keep me voice down.**

**"Hey, Steph." Andy mimicked me with his voice low.**

**"What's up?"**

**"I hate to break up your stake out party, but I need to talk to you guys about something."**

**"How did you know I was on a stake out?"**

**"Can't keep anything from the homeless, sweetie. You're on their turf."**

**"Right, but how did you know?"**

**"One of my clients was complaining about two people in black in his house. I figured it was you guys."**

**"Good watchmen."**

**"You don't know the half of it. I'll buy you dinner so you can defrost."**

**"Sounds better than this. I don't think my guy is going to show anyway."**

**"The usual?"**

**"I'm feeling Pino's."**

**"Meet you there." We hung up and I told Ranger that we were packing it up. He nodded.**

**"If Andy knows then the skip does too."**

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**Andy was sitting in the back booth when we walked in. I almost laughed when I saw that he wasn't sitting in the side against the wall. He knows Ranger pretty well. We slid in across from him and I scanned the room. Joe Morelli and Mia Brookline were sitting at a table surrounded by fellow cops. Joe raised his beer to me and I nodded back. I've known Joe Morelli most of my life. We dated for a while and we are still good friends. Now, he's engaged to Mia. She was my best friend briefly when I was a kid. I had assumed she was dead after she left town with her abusive family and I didn't hear from her again. She came back into my life about the same time Andy did to try to save my life. She does that a lot, it's just how she is. Annoying, yes, but I still love her.**

**"I need your help." Andy pulled me back. He was looking at both of us.**

**"What's up?" I asked.**

**"I have had several clients go missing lately. At first, I just shrugged it off. These people don't stay in one place too long and I thought they had just moved on."**

**"But?" Ranger helped Andy along.**

**"But I think eleven people is too many."**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is Janet's baby. I'm just playing.**

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"Do they have anything in common?" I asked. Andy shrugged helplessly.

**"Not that I could find. One was a crack head that was trying to get clean, another was a mother who was trying to get her son back. I had a guy in that was suing his "land lord". They were all different types of cases and people that weren't really connected. The only thing that they had in common was their living situation."**

**"Homeless."**

**"Exactly. The disappearances have been spread out over the last few weeks."**

**"What was the area?" Ranger asked.**

**"They were from all over the North side. Stark, Dotter, Nelson, South, Bender, Comstock. I can't figure it out."**

**The pizza arrived and our waitress nearly dumped it in my lap when she saw Ranger.**

**"Yo, Angie."**

**"Oh, hey. Sorry 'bout that, Steph." She was turning beet red. I grinned, I was pretty used to that reaction. "Uh, three beers?"**

**"Sure." I answered, looking across the table at Andy. We could have been invisible when Ranger was around.**

**"How about I show you the areas after we eat?" Andy suggested.**

**"Good idea." I said around a mouthful of hot pizza and my silent partner nodded. The three of us ate in silence. I smiled at Mia when she walked toward us before leaving with Joe.**

**"Hey, girl."**

**"Hello, everyone." She nodded to Andy and Ranger. She didn't always play well with others and she usually thinks that Ranger is bad for my health, but she keeps it to herself now. They had talked last Halloween. Neither would tell me what was said, but what ever it was, it gave Mia some weird respect for the man in black. "Steph, I was wondering if we could do lunch or something tomorrow. I have some things I need to talk to you about." She said this in her usual stiff way. She could relax, but I think it would probably take a few drinks.**

**"Sure. You have a place in mind?" I looked down at the pizza. I had a crazy feeling that that wasn't what she had on her mind.**

**"How about Panda Express? It's close to the precinct."**

**I raised an eyebrow at the choice. There's always something healthy when it comes to Chinese food, but Panda Express wasn't on her usual list of health nut flavor-free places.**

**"Uh, sure. Sounds good."**

**"See you then." She turned on her heel. I shook my head. For a detective in Trenton, she had some things to learn about being Jersey. I looked at the guys. Ranger wasn't revealing anything, but I think I saw the traces of a smile. He can read me. Andy looked at me curiously. I shrugged. I didn't understand her, how was I supposed to know what she wanted?**

**We finished up and I followed the guys out the door. As we loaded up into Andy's SUV, I asked from the back seat how Marcus, Andy's boyfriend, was.**

**"In Staten Island. Close family and all." Andy was kind of uncomfortable with the whole close family thing since his family left a lot to be desired in that category. "It's crazy. They adore him no matter what he does. They are dying to meet me." Andy shook his head and turned the heat on full blast so I could get some in the back.**

**"Andy, that's a good sign." I teased him.**

**"Oh, c'mon, what if they hate me?"**

**"How can they hate you?"**

**"Speaking of meeting the family, does Sir Galahad here ever plan to take you home to meet the Manoso's?" Ranger glared at the grinning Andy. It wasn't something we talked about. I sat back and looked out the window. See, I didn't know Ranger's family. I had met Tank's family and his adopted sister was pretty open about "Carlos" but I hadn't had a chance in the last few months to catch up with her. She was busy and I was…well, I was busy, too. It wasn't just that, though. I was kind of afraid of finding out just how little I knew about the man I was in love with. Hey, I was having meet the family jitters, too.**

**Andy was a lovable, intelligent and self-sacrificing kind of guy. That was the kind of person parents dream about for their son, even if it's a guy. The Wrights in Staten Island would love Andy like he was their own. They would be fools to do anything but. Me, though? I was a thirty year old bounty hunter who had no plans to make their little boy an honest man or to pop out grand kids. Excuse me, but I know Ranger could do better. Wouldn't they see that too?**

**As I looked out the window, I watched as the streets went from the 'burg's neat houses and small yards to apartment buildings to tenements to the slums. The East Ward faded into the North side.**

**"Right up here is where Gloria Denney usually called her home." It was one of the first old storefronts that we had come to. "But she moved around a lot. If the weather was bearable, this was hers but she would go the shelter if the weather dropped below freezing." He drove along, pointing out haunts and giving us a background on each of the missing people. Former solders, lawyers, plumbers, strippers. Some sold their body, some sold drugs, some were addicted, some were clean. There was a pretty equal number of men and women and they had been all sorts of races. White, black, Latino, Asian. One of Andy's missing clients was Indian. The victims were as widespread as the homeless themselves.**

**"The streets are never quiet here. They move constantly and sleep isn't something easily found on the pavement or in the abandoned buildings. They constantly have to fight for their territory, because sometimes that little spot in the alley is all they have. The harshness of the streets usually wreaks their minds. Some worse than others. It's awful to see, but they have an amazing resilience. They are constantly seeking for more, constantly moving. Some give up. Without hope, they don't last long."**

**I watched the streets with a new perspective. I knew what Andy did and I knew that people didn't live pleasant lives in this part of town, but I had never heard it this way. The 'burg mentality was really that these people just needed to get a job. They just needed to try to get off the streets. If they worked hard, like the 'burghers, then they wouldn't be on the streets. While I listened to Andy, I realized that there was a whole lot more to it than that. Some were battling addiction, some mental illness and there was a lot of generational poverty. It was hard to fight something when it was all you knew and it was everywhere around you. I reached up and squeezed Ranger's shoulder to communicate the emotions I was feeling. He took my hand and squeezed back.**

**"It's a culture shock, huh?" Andy asked quietly.**

**"I had no idea."**

**"Most don't, sis." He took us home. The three of us walked in together with me in the middle. I gave Andy a hug at the elevator and whispered that we would help. I took Ranger's hand and headed for our door.**

**"What do you think?" I asked Ranger after he came back from looking at my dust bunnies.**

**"I think those things are going to kill you one of these days." He responded and dropped onto the couch. I laid down beside him and rested my legs in his lap.**

**"I mean about the case."**

**"There isn't much to know, is there? People with nothing in common, besides what they all lack. Nothing."**

**"You think Andy is wrong?"**

**"He isn't wrong about much."**

**"No, he isn't."**

**"We will check it out, babe. Together."**

**I snuggled back on couch and he turned on the news. I smiled, partners again. Like that always went smoothly for him. Something was going to blow, no doubt.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I am not making any money off this! Just so you know...**

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**The next morning I crawled out of bed to a bag full of Boston Crème donuts and a file on the skip we were looking for yesterday. Is there a downside to living with Batman? I flipped through the background on Monty Davis. He was wanted for attempted rape and resisting arrest. Why I landed it, I'm clueless, but I had been looking for the creep for a week. It wasn't going well.**

**Monty had grown up in Denver. When he got to Trenton two months ago, he had been disappointed to find it was an old game here. We are a center for the mafia and some new little pusher wasn't going to find any kind of territory. The old heads frown on drugs, but they are rivaled by the gangs and they find that it is better to let the gangs fight amongst themselves than to get involved.**

**I moved to the bathroom to work through my morning ritual and figure out what I needed to do with the day. As I was brushing my teeth, I remembered Mia. Lunch with Mia. I checked the time and found that I had about an hour before that had to happen. I pulled on my uniform of jeans and a tee. Mindful of the frigid Trenton weather, I threw a black hoodie on top. Seriously, there had to be better weather somewhere in March. I stepped out the door to the apartment building and ran to my black Colt that was on the far side of the lot. Correction, it was March and it was friggin' sleeting. The worst part was that the sleet was becoming blackish-grey sludge on the super-clean streets of Trenton. Disgusting, huh?**

**I stepped into the office and started dripping on Vinnie's carpet. Vincent Plum was my boss and distantly related to me on my dad's side. He was an ass so I felt some satisfaction in making the mess. Vinnie has some unusual tastes, like sheep and Joyce and ducks. You know, the usual weird stuff.**

**"Morning, ladies." I huffed out a little. I didn't like being cold, so sue me.**

**"Coffee." Connie Rizzoli pointed to the corner, without looking up at me. Connie was very Italian. She was short, squat and busty. Every morning, she would pluck the black hairs above her lip and make her hair big. She is so Italian that its rumored that she has relatives that make making cement shoes a hobby.**

**Lula, Connie's office mate, was wrapped around a cup on the couch, flipping through a magazine.**

**"Hunh, Britney flipped out again."**

**"What's new?" Connie and I spoke together in dry tones.**

**"Brendan Frasier had an extension."**

**"Where?" I asked as I sat down next to her.**

**"Where else?"**

**"Hunh." I sipped my incredibly strong coffee and thought about this tidbit.**

**"Oh, some aliens landed on some farm and demanded to see Elmo. They had the hots for the little guy." Lula quoted.**

**"What are you reading?" Connie demanded, looking up for the first time.**

**"The New York Times." She held it up. I leaned in and read the front.**

**"That's the New York Timer. Some how I don't think that's the same thing."**

**"Hunh. Well, it has some good information."**

**"Go for it." Connie leaned back into her files. I dropped two low level body slips in front of her. She looked up. "How's Monty?"**

**"Missing."**

**"I thought he might be a hard find."**

**"Anything new for me?"**

**"You kidding? In this weather?" I looked at my watch and jumped. Crap.**

**"Oh, I gotta go. Mia hates when I'm late."**

**"Tell her to take that stick out of her ass…"**

**"Oh, yeah…that'll go over well." I made a face and waved on my way out.**

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**Mia was waiting for me when I skidded into the Panda Express and dropped into a seat across from her. She didn't look happy. Well, tough cookies.**

**"Ready?" I was thinking about hitting the huge buffet.**

**"I've already ordered." She had her arms crossed and her body was tense, just screaming for me to try to argue with her.**

**"That's great." I gave her a fake smile and waited for her to start talking. When she didn't, I sighed. "So, you wanted to talk?"**

**She melted in her seat and dropped her head to her hands. "Oh, gods, Steph! What am I doing?"**

**I looked around for inspiration and put my hand on her shoulder. She stayed as she was for a few beats. "They all hate me!" She straightened up and looked me in the eyes.**

**"Who hates you?"**

**"The Morelli's. They hate me. With a passion." I thought back the emotionless Angie Morelli. How could she do anything with a passion? Grandma Bella I could see. The woman is a psycho.**

**"I thought evening went great. You know, when Joe proposed and we ate with them? They were a little quiet but I tried to be nice and charming, you know? Later, I heard from another detective that they hated that I was a cop. I figured, it's okay, it'll pass," I winced as Mia spoke. It didn't pass. 'Burg women didn't work and if they did, they didn't do things like being a cop. Or a bounty hunter for that matter.**

**"It's been months! They still hate my job and they have moved onto misunderstanding and thinking Dawn was my baby. They called her a bastard! No matter how many times I try to explain, it doesn't sink in. Every time I see Grandma Bella, I run into stuff for a week after that. I had three fender benders in one day after I got into the fight with them about Dawn. I think she is a witch, Steph. I can't take this anymore." She buried her head in her arms and rested there for a while.**

**"Have you talked to Joe?" I murmured to her bent figure.**

**"Of course, but he doesn't understand. Please, tell me you understand!" She caught my hand desperately.**

**"More than you know."**

**"Why are they saints all of a sudden and everyone treats me like scum?" She asked rhetorically. I actually had an answer for that one.**

**"Because they're Morelli women."**

**"And that means something?"**

**"In the 'burg, that means everything. Morelli men are scum. Drunk, abusive bastards. Half are in jail, the rest are either dead or burdens on their families. However, the Morelli women are respected. They are pious and their houses are spick and span. Joe respects them, just like the rest of the 'burg."**

**"So he's blind?"**

**"Sometimes, yeah."**

**"And I fix this how?"**

**"I never found a way. They just accept you eventually."**

**"No, they accepted you. You are 'burg, I'm not."**

**"Maybe you have more in common with them than either of you know."**

**"I don't need a fortune cookie, Steph."**

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**Mia and I ate in silence and she got paged half way through. I had just decided to go look into Monty Davis some when my phone buzzed.**

**"Hey," I said to Andy.**

**"Steph," He sounded anguished. I sat up straighter. I had never heard Andy sound this upset. "Oh, Steph. She's gone."**

**"Andy, where are you?" I was planning to go and get him. He didn't sound capable of driving.**

**"She's gone. Deedra's gone."**

**"Are you at her apartment?"**

**"Yeah, it's ransacked. The window's broken, Steph. The whole place is freezing."**

**"I'll be right there. Wait for me, okay?"**

**"You have help me find her, Steph. She's just a kid."**

**"We'll be right over." I hung up and called Ranger.**

**"We've got a problem."**


	4. Chapter 4

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**Ranger and I arrived at Deedra's apartment building at the same time. It was in the North side, but a safer part of it. The apartments were old, but they were clean and fairly safe.**

**He waited for me then we walked in together.**

"**What's up?" He asked as we walked up the stairs.**

"**Andy said that the place was broken into and Dee's missing. He thinks foul play, but he's not doing too well right now."**

"**Any threats?" Ranger was all business. At least someone was. I shook off my anxiety and tried to mimic him.**

"**Andy hasn't mentioned any. Who would threaten her? She's an office assistant."**

"**For a lawyer that's trying to clean up the North side."**

"**You think Andy's doing something that's interfering with the mafia or something?"**

"**It's a possibility." We arrived that her third floor apartment and found the door open. The locks were intact. Ranger stopped and examined the door as I went through to find Andy.**

"**Hey," I found him in the kitchen. **

"**I called the cops. They came in and looked around, but they didn't seem too serious."**

"**Her record?"**

"**Yeah, they figured it was her old pimp or something. I don't think they are going to look any further. They kinda acted like it was her own fault. God, who would want to hurt her? She was a great kid." **

"**Hey, we figure it out, okay?" Andy nodded, trying not to lose it. I pulled him into a hug and he held me tightly back.**

"**We have to find her. We have to, Steph." Andy whispered fiercely. **

"**We will." I promised and I wasn't sure if I could keep it. Ranger walked in to the room and Andy pulled back.**

"**Either she let them in or they came in a different way."**

"**No sign of force?"**

"**None, no scratching around the locks and they weren't jimmied."**

"**The door was open when I got here. Maybe the window in her bedroom? The fire escape is right outside." And led us in there and the temperature that was already low in the rest of her apartment dropped several degrees. We walked closer and from that angle, I could see that the screen had torn.**

"**I'll bet this is how they got in." Ranger nodded at my words.**

"**Very likely."**

"**Oh, God." Andy said softly and left the room. After some nonverbal communication between me and my partner, I went to calm Andy down and Ranger looked around the room. As I followed Andy, I looked around the apartment. It was a mess, maybe from a fight? Had Deedra fought her captors? I took a little comfort in seeing no blood. She wasn't hurt here, at least. Andy and I cleaned up the living room.**

"**Might as well. It's not like the cops are treating it like a crime scene." **

**Ranger walked in just as we were trying to move the couch back into place. He took my side silently and helped Andy.**

"**Anything?" I asked from the side.**

"**She was probably in bed when it happened."**

"**Wouldn't that make it harder to surprise her?"**

"**Not if she was asleep."**

**We walked out and Andy locked everything up. Deedra had given him her keys when she came to work for him. **

"**What if someone had her keys?" I suggested. Andy shook his head.**

"**I was the only one that she had given keys to. She just moved in here." I nodded to him and the three of us walked down to the parking lot.**

"**You need a ride?" I asked Andy. He blinked out of his deep thoughts. **

"**Uh, no. I should go back to the office to finish some stuff up, maybe look into some things."**

"**See you guys later then." I waved back to them and ran out to my car. When I got in, I turned back to look at them. Ranger had stayed with Andy and they were talking. Hmm…**

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**I stopped by the 7 Eleven and picked up munchies. It was going to be a long afternoon. I parked down the street from Monty's apartment and I sat and waited. And waited. And waited. About four, an old man in ragged clothes walked past my car in the light sleet. He did this twice before knocking on my window. I jumped because I had been thinking about Deedra. I rolled down the passenger window and leaned closer. **

"**C-c-could you spare some change, ma'am?" He stuttered a little. I grab my purse and grabbed a five. As I passed it through the window, something Andy had said before. The homeless know everything on the streets.**

"**Do you know anything about Monty Davis?" I asked him.**

"**Who?" The old man took my bill and quickly stuffed in his pocket. I grabbed Monty's file and took out one of the pictures.**

"**This man." I held up his mug shot.**

"**He's mean." The old man shook his head.**

"**I'm trying to find him. Could you help me?" I asked and he continued shaking his head.**

"**No, no, he's mean." **

"**Listen, how about this? You keep this picture and call me if you hear anything or see anything?" I handed him the picture and my card. He just looked at me like I was asking him to do a suicide mission. He was so thin and his clothes were falling apart, he was unshaven and I guessed he hadn't had a shower for a while. "Please. This man is dangerous and I need to get him off the streets." I begged him softly.**

"**Lady, he hurts women. You shouldn't be around him either." **

**I smiled at his concern and handed him a ten and two quarters. "If you hear anything, call me." He walked away without responding. I doubted I would ever hear from the man again. I sat in the car for another half an hour then gave it up for the day. I had class tonight.**

**I went home, changed and left to pick Lula up. Andy met me at the car. **

"**You sure you're up to it?" I asked.**

"**I need this." He nodded and got in my Colt. When I picked up Lula, she complained that a full figured woman such as herself couldn't sit in the backseat of my tiny ass car so we switched to her Firebird.**

"**This is better." She nodded and cranked up the music.**

**Sensei gave us a tough workout then had us spar. I was stuck with a man twice my size but I held my own pretty good. When you spar, you learn control because you only lightly tap your partner. I was wearing out long before we finished. After being kicked several times when I knew I could have easily blocked them, then ending up on my back without knowing how I got there, I decided I needed more practice. **

"**This is kicking my butt." **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys! Just letting you know (in case you haven't figured this out for yourselves), I'm not Janet Evanovich. Who would have thought?**

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**I tromped into the apartment, thoroughly abused and in a bad mood. Ranger was sitting on the couch and when he saw me, he chuckled. I smacked his head as I walked by on the way to the bedroom. I never heard him behind me, but I supposed that was the point. He picked me up and tossed me on the bed. I shrieked and landed in the middle. He walked calmly up and smoothly kneeled on the bed. Before I had a chance to block him, he straddled me and held my wrists above my head.**

**"Problems, babe?" He asked with a grin.**

**"You don't play fair." I grinded out. I was in a bitchy mood. He was a big guy, he could take it.**

**"All's fair." He shrugged and increased the pressure slightly on my hands.**

**"So, I'm supposed to get out of this?"**

**He grinned then leaned in and kissed me. "Only if you want to." I shoved up with my hips purposefully into some sensitive areas. He smoothly shifted and my move was pointless. I bit my lip and consider the situation.**

**"Give me some motivation here." I twisted my arms, but he simply loosened his grip and moved with me.**

**"Why?" He asked and leaned in closer. With sudden inspiration, I kissed him. At first, my kiss was hard, I was mad, after all but I softened and he kissed me back. I felt him begin to relax and I oh so carefully shoved him up and rolled him over, not breaking the kiss. I repositioned my legs and began to kiss down him neck. I grabbed his hands and stretched them over his head as I returned to his lips.**

**"How was that?" I asked and pulled up, grinning.**

**"Sneaky."**

**"All's fair." I kissed him, then slid off and rummaged through my drawers looking for pjs. None. Hunh…maybe I needed to do the laundry. His arms wrapped around my waist and he touched his lips against my neck. Mmm…He moved up to my ear and bit the lobe. He paused for a second, then lifted his head.**

**"Got to go."**

**"What?" I saw slightly in a haze.**

**"Games on." He began to walk away and I slapped him with the tank top in my hand. He chuckled and I shoved him on the bed and tried to tickle him.**

**"Hey!" He shouted and laughed a little. He managed to catch me and flip me beside him on the bed and reversed the torture.**

**"Ahh…Stop!" I slapped at his hands. He grabbed them and held them to my chest.**

**"Say mercy!" He released my hands and continued his assault.**

**"Never." I flipped him off me and we both fell to the floor. I landed on top of him, both of us breathing hard. I looked down into his dark eyes with my half closed ones. I realized that I wasn't in a bad mood anymore. I grinned down at him and kissed him. "Thanks."**

**He rubbed my back. "Anytime, babe."**

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**The sun streaming in my east facing windows flooded my closed eyes. I frowned and covered my eyes with my arm. I heard a chuckle over my shoulder and I rolled on the bed toward Ranger.**

**"Hey," I grinned. He touched my wild hair and kissed me before sliding out of bed, heading for the bathroom. I sat up, swung my legs over the side, and followed him. The door was mostly open and he was brushing his teeth. I looked in the mirror and groaned. Never go to sleep with wet hair, it makes a real mess out of curly hair. Ranger grinned and kissed my temple.**

**"It's cute." He started shaving while I brushed my teeth.**

**"What are you on for today?" I asked around my Spongbob toothbrush. Hey, it was cheap, okay?**

**"I did background searches on the eleven clients and Deedra. Want to help?"**

**I nodded. I had been thinking about Deedra. "Maybe she's connected. It's a really big coincidence if all of a sudden she goes missing, too."**

**"I agree." He said quietly. "I also think Andy knows something."**

**"He would have told us." I was absolutely sure. Andy would lie to me, we had been through too much together.**

**"I don't think he knows." Ranger leaned against the counter, watching me wash my face.**

**"Like a case he was working on."**

**"Exactly." I started working on my makeup and he was pretty intent. I looked at him with one eye done and the other bare.**

**"What?"**

**"Why wear makeup?" I almost giggled when I realized why his look looked familiar to me. I used to watch my mom the same way when she "put her face on" and I had seen my nieces do it with Val. It was fascinating, I supposed, to watch a woman change her appearance.**

**"Because." I made a face at his question and went back to my eyes.**

**"You're beautiful without it." I snorted at his statement.**

**"Oh, yeah. I would real good without it." I brushed him off and started fixing my hair, trying to move the subject back to the case. "Why would someone target the homeless?"**

**"Maybe they saw something."**

**"What would they do? No one believes the mentally unstable. They're powerless." Ranger nodded in agreement. I sighed and just pulled my hair back in a ponytail. "Where to, boss?" I turned to the guy leaning next to me.**

**He kissed my jaw. "Files are on the table." Ranger moved to the bedroom and started dressing while I went to the kitchen and made some tea. Connie's coffee yesterday made me crave something a little lighter. I sighed and sat down, pulling half the files toward me.**

**First up was Jonathon Casing. White. Vietnam vet. After returning from the unpopular war, finding work was hard for Jonny and he slowly lost everything. His wife couldn't understand how much he had changed and took the kids and moved to Seattle. He found solace in the bottle and lost the house. He has lived on the streets since the early eighties. Andy had been helping him get his back pension from the VA.**

**Ranger walked into the room and sat beside me, pulling his half to him.**

**Gloria Denney. Black. Former teacher. She was a wild teenager, misdiagnosed with schizophrenia in her early twenties. She completed college and began a nice teaching job at a private school. All that time she was on an antipsychotic called ativan that seemed to be a lesser evil. She became dangerously depressed on ativan so she quit taking it. Her performance at the school ran well after that, but she became increasingly manic. Her parents forced her into a treatment center and she was put on Lithium. She apparently became catatonic after that. When her parents died in 1989, she was put in the care of her brother. He removed her from the treatment center and in a moment of lucidity, she ran away. Now, after a decade of living off the antipsychotic medication, she started to have severe stomach pain. After being checked out by the urgent care center, she was diagnosed with renal failure. Andy was helping her sue the treatment center and doctors for misdiagnosing her and putting her on medication that would have such dangerous side effects.**

**I got up and refilled my tea, handing Ranger a mug as I passed. He was as engrossed as I was in the lives of these people. I opened my next file and took a sip.**

**Arron Alonso. Mexican-American. He was a teenager with a bad past and a family immersed in poverty. He had been in and out of trouble for years. His father was abusive and a drunk. Arron had been in juvie a couple of times and was in a gang. He had a record of being a runaway. Arron had been in rehab with his father and twin brother when he ran away and hit the streets. He had nowhere else to go. Arron had somehow stumbled onto Andy and just kind of had a general plea for help. Andy was still trying to see what action he had should take when Arron disappeared.**

**I set the file down and rubbed my eyes. Ranger rubbed my back, not looking up from his file. I picked up the next one and found an Asian woman who discovered a rush for stealing cars and got caught. The fallout left her facing 20 years in prison and little incentive to stick around. She became a fugitive and went underground. Now after five years, she went to the street lawyer to help her reenter society. Before the proper authorities could be alerted, Amy Zhan came up missing.**

**Xavier Thomas. Black. An up and coming lawyer who had lived in the fast lane. Working hard all week and partying all weekend. He discovered cocaine and the rest was history. He was on the streets in months and he switched his addiction to heroin. He went to Andy in need of rehab.**

**I sighed and closed the file. Ranger was switching files, too. He had two clients left and I had Deedra Jones. I reached for her file and tried to push away the fact that she was a friend.**

**Deedra Jones. Latino. She was from Denver originally and her father was Pastor Jones of Carbuncle Lutheran Church in the suburb Aurora. I already knew how she ended up on the streets. She had started hooking on Colfax. Colfax was the old part of the city and now it was one of the most dangerous parts of the Mile High city. She traveled to New York with a pimp and had ended up on in Jersey. She had only been a 'ho on Dotter Street for six months before Andy and I picked her up. Now, she was missing.**

**Ranger sat back and looked at me. He jerked his head toward the couch and I nodded, grabbing my tea. We moved into the living room and discussed the files.**

**"So, there's absolutely no connection between any of them." I sat back in defeat.**

**"Except Andy."**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ranger and I cleaned up and I tried to call Andy. When I got his voice mail, I left a message and fretted a bit. Look, I am not the type to fret, but when I find out that my best friend is in the middle of a string of disappearances, I might worry a little. What do you think?**

**I had just sat down on the couch when my phone started buzzing. I shot up and grabbed it off the coffee table.**

"**Hello?" I answered without looking at the caller ID. Imagine my confusion when I heard Mia crying.**

"**Steph, I need a place to stay for a while." Oh, god…Visions were racing through my head of her being hurt or Joe being dead. **

"**What's wrong?" She snuffled for a beat or two after my question.**

"**I need to come over."**

"**Sure, I'll order a pizza." She laughed, slightly hysterical.**

"**Sounds wonderful. See you guys in a few." And she hung up. I padded into the kitchen and slid up the counter to sit next to where Ranger was typing on his laptop.**

"**What's up?"**

"**Something's wrong with Mia. She's coming over and she might be staying for a while."**

"**Fight with Morelli?"**

"**Didn't say." I stopped swinging my feet and looked at him. "Why would you ask?"**

"**You ran away when you fought with Morelli too." I was about to reply or hit him at least when Mia knocked on the door.**

"**This isn't over." I informed him and jogged to the door before she woke up any of my elderly neighbors. Mia came in with Dawn in tow and pulled me into a hug. **

"**Oh, gods, Steph. Thank you." She started crying against me and I led her to the couch. Dawn squeezed my shoulder then walked in to see Ranger. I watched around Mia's shoulder as the little girl approach my mystery man. She waved slightly up at him and smiled. He looked down at her for a moment. He said something in a low voice and she nodded. She tried to climb up on the stool next to him and almost fell. Ranger picked her up before she hurt herself and lifted her onto the counter where I had been sitting. He tilted the screen so she could see it and she giggled. I was brought back to Mia when a knock sounded at my door. I pulled away from Mia and went to the kitchen to get my purse. **

**Ranger handed Dawn a twenty and she gave it to me. I smiled at her and ran my hand across his back as I walked past. I opened the door to Angie and shook her off fairly quickly. Sorry, pal. I have a crisis. The four of us sat around the coffee table on the floor, drinking Coke and eating Pino's terrific, greasy pizza. I knew something was seriously wrong with Mia since she seemed to enjoy it. When we finished, I pulled Mia to the bedroom and Ranger turned on the TV. I listened as I walked down the hall.**

**He flipped through the channels and Dawn told him to go back. She liked hockey. What a girl.**

"**What's going on, Mia?" I asked, flopping back on the bed. She paced in front of me. **

"**I just couldn't take it anymore. We were having dinner with them and they started doing that thing! That thing that I hate. Grandma Bella acted all innocent and started asking me questions, like-" She cleared her throat and began to do a passable imitation of Joe's grandmother. "When you marry Joseph, will you quit that job of yours? Or, the most horrible…when you marry Joseph, do you expect him to adopt that bastard?" Mia's voice broke with frustration. "I was humiliated and Joe just sat there. I'm sitting there, face red and about to cry, and he does nothing. The last straw was when Dawn asked what a bastard was and that bat told her!" **

**My jaw dropped.**

"**I stood up and told them I was leaving. I grabbed Dawn and packed some of our things. Joe came in and tried to convince me to stay. He actually told me that I was overreacting! He told me that I was being a foolish woman and it was just stress. Like he has any room to talk! He's a freaking vice cop! He's devoted to that damn job! I am not quitting my job! I love being a detective and I have always taken care of Dawn and myself! He has no right!" She was pacing wildly now and waving her arms at each point. She ran out of steam and fell back on the bed next to me. With a sob, she asked if she was over reacting. "Am I crazy?"**

**I shook my head and lay back next to her. "Don't change for him. He fell in love with a cop and he shouldn't expect you to change." **

"**How could I be so wrong about him?"**

"**You weren't. Joe's a good guy. He just needs to stop caring so much about what that woman thinks."**

"**He's always so sweet." She rolled toward me. "I don't know what I'm doing, Steph, I really don't." I sighed, wishing that I could tell her to go back to Morelli and give him another chance, but I knew how she felt. Morelli women were a pain in the ass. **

"**Give it some time, okay? Don't do anything you might regret later."**

"**I gave up my apartment when I moved in with him three months ago."**

**I tried to give her a comforting smile. "Stay here." She hugged me in relief and I patted her on the back awkwardly. "What are blood sisters for?" Oh, boy.**

*** * * * * * * ***

**We walked back into the living room and Mia snuggled up with Dawn. I walked out to the kitchen and started quietly talking to Rex.**

"**I don't know if I can handle that much Mia." I dropped my head down after I worked through the problem with Rex. "But Joe is a jackass and he's stubborn."**

"**Don't worry, it'll work out." I jumped, thinking Rex was talking to me. Hey, it's been a damn long day. Ranger chuckled and slid close to me and dropped a carrot in with the hamster. I turned around and he held me to his chest. **

"**She was talking about you sleeping on the couch and us three sharing the bed." I mumbled into his chest.**

"**You want me to?"**

"**No, I want you with me. Do you want to go to Haywood?" I really didn't want him to go, but I had to give him the option. He kissed my forehead.**

"**You think I would leave you with a crazy on the loose? You're a magnet, babe."**

"**Thanks for the reminder." We pulled apart and Mia shouted from the living room.**

"**Andy's on the phone!" I ran past Ranger and snatched the phone from Mia. **

"**Where are you?" I demanded. He laughed.**

"**Calm down, mom. I'm at Marcus's, he's back. Where are you? Mia?"**

"**She's staying here." I tried to calm down.**

"**Uh oh."**

"**Yeah, it isn't a pretty thing. How's Marcus?"**

"**He's good. We're good. He still wants to take me home. Are you okay?"**

"**Just overreacting."**

"**Anything I need to know?" **

"**Not right now, but be careful, okay?"**

"**Sure, sis. How's our man in black?"**

"**The strong silent type."**

"**Just curious, you know, but how did you go from an Italian hothead like Joe to Mr. Manoso?"**

"**I'm not sure I ever made the switch."**

"**Oh?" **

"**I'll tell you sometime."**

"**Good. Listen, take care of those girls. I had better go home and crash. I haven't slept much lately."**

"**Night, Andy." We hung up and I collapsed on the couch with Mia and Dawn. Ranger leaned against the wall. He quirked an eyebrow at me and I shook my head. Nothing was wrong. "How about we make a nest for you two on the floor?" Dawn was happy and Mia couldn't argue. See, I can handle Mia.**

**How long I could manage was still up in the air.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I own my OCs and the plot. It's pretty common knowledge that the rest is that Janet's.**

**

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**

I jerked awake at 4 am to shrieking. Ranger cursed softly behind me and started to get up.

**"What's going on?" I mumbled, half-coherent as I crawled out of bed too.**

**"I told Tank and a couple of the guys to come over this morning. That was before Mia and Dawn came to stay."**

**"Shit," I opened the door and came face to face with a scene that would have been funny it if it wasn't for the guns. Let's not get deadly here.**

**"Mia! Holy cow, girl." I started to move into the middle of the gun hold up when Ranger grabbed me around the middle.**

**"Not a good idea." He murmured. "Guns down." He ordered the men and all but one gun went down. Mia raised her eyebrows and kept her gun steady on Tank.**

**"Mia, put it down." I demanded.**

**"You know these criminals?" I looked around the room when she asked.**

**"Actually, most of them were military."**

**"They broke into your apartment."**

**"They're associates of Ranger's." I explained, as if this was the most ordinary thing. Oh, yeah. See, I just don't get enough showdowns in the middle of the night. Mia snorted, but lowered her gun.**

**"You need to get a new crowd." She said pointedly and stomped into the kitchen. I nodded to Ranger behind me and pulled Dawn with me. She was trying to make friends with Lester. It was cute, but it probably wouldn't help Mia's pissy mood.**

**"What the hell, Steph?" Mia asked as I entered the room. I shook my head and moved to the coffee pot. I needed coffee. This was too much. "I don't like that those men come into your apartment at all hours! I mean, how can you trust them? Those are big guys and they look pretty…darn scary." She toned down her language for her daughter. I listened to this for a while, gritting my teeth a little. "For crying out loud, they were armed! They are probably all carrying concealed without a license. I could go out and arrest them all."**

**"Mia-"**

**"Steph, I can handle you being around Ranger. I may not like it one bit, but he seems to be fun for you. But those guys? Jeez, Steph, what if they hurt you-"**

**"Mia, shut up! Don't you get it?" I broke in before I could stop myself. "I trust Ranger. I love Ranger. He isn't my toy; he's my boyfriend, okay? And he is doing a pretty good job of keeping me alive." I stopped talking, trying to find some control before I ripped into her.**

**"But those men." Her voice was small.**

**"I trust those men, too. They have done nothing to me, but get hurt for me. They're good guys, no matter what you think about their appearance. Okay? There's stuff going on here that you don't understand." I turned on my heel and poured my coffee. We both stopped when we realized that the other room was silent. Mia's cheeks became bright pink. They had heard everything. Great, just great.**

**"I'm going to go get ready." She mumbled and left the room. I sat down at the counter with Dawn.**

**"Well, that was interesting." I sighed and she nodded.**

**"What happened to Joe?" Dawn asked me with a childlike innocence.**

**"He's being kind of stupid right now and your mom doesn't like it."**

**"When will he stop?"**

**"Wish I knew." I wanted Mia and Joe's happy ending, even if they both drove me crazy. I felt Ranger enter the room and I turned toward him and smiled at Tank. I pointed to the coffee and Tank moved to get some.**

**"She okay?" Lester asked from the doorway. Ranger moved behind me and I leaned against him. He grabbed my coffee and took a drink.**

**"She's just stressed up. She didn't mean anything by it."**

**Tank leaned his hip against the counter and poured a cup. Lester gave him a grin. "I'll take one, big guy."**

**"Get it yourself, pipsqueak." Tank grumbled.**

**"Oh, hey man, coffee." Some black guy that I didn't know moved in beside Lester.**

**"Get it yourself, Crash." Lester answered and Tank slides him a cup. "What? Oh, c'mon, Tank!" Crash took his coffee from the counter beside me. He looked down at Dawn and winked. She giggled and I took my cup back from Ranger and found it mostly empty.**

**"Can I have some, please?" I asked Tank in a sweet voice. He grinned and poured me some. Lester mumbled something, gave up and walked over to Tank. He pulled out a mug and held it out. Tank looked at him blankly.**

**"Please?" Lester tried reluctantly.**

**"That's all you needed to say." Tank poured the darn coffee.**

**"Crash didn't." Lester pouted in a manly way. I rolled my eyes. Whatever.**

**"He's Crash."**

**"Yeah, if Tank didn't give him his morning coffee, we might not make it to the bust." Bobby moved into the room.**

**"How did he get the nickname?" I asked and the guys all around me chuckled.**

**"He's worse with cars than are, beautiful." Lester grinned and Crash smacked him.**

**"I'm good with cars, but if you drive that much you're bound to have a few accidents." Crash explained to me, shrugging.**

**"A few?" Tank snorted.**

**"Try, what is it now? 23? 24?" Bobby ducked Crash's hand.**

**"More like 30." Lester threw in helpfully. Around the guys' laughter, I heard Mia moving around in my bedroom. I nodded to Dawn and she slid off her stool with a little help from Bobby. How did she do that? All these big, strong tough guys were putty in her hands.**

**"Got to go, guys. Get ready and all." I turned to Ranger and kissed him lightly, much the delight of the immature brats. They whistled at me as I left. I went through the living room, grabbing Mia's bag and walking down the hall. Mia looked up in despair as I walked in.**

**"I'm sorry, Steph. I'm a bitch." She hugged me and took the bag. She was currently wrapped in a towel. Guess that wouldn't go over well at the precinct. I didn't speak, just sitting down on my bed and waiting for her to talk. "They scared me, you know? I guess after the stuff Joe told me about Ranger, I just assumed." She started dressing. I guess that was all I was getting.**

**I shrugged. "Joe sees what he's supposed to see. It's a reputation, Mia, not who he is."**

**"No one is that good at acting." Mia gave me a look.**

**"Who says he's acting?"**

**"Oh, come on, Steph! If he acts like a thug, how can that not be whom he is but he's not acting? Give me something to work with here." She sat down on my bed next to me, clothes on and hair dripping.**

**"He just let's you believe what you want to."**

**"I don't want to believe that you are living with a criminal."**

**"Look, it's barely 5 in the morning. I can't do this this early."**

**Mia snorted. "Whose fault is that?"**

**"Ranger's guys have never woken me up." I pointed out as I walked out the door. She shook her head as I shut the door behind me. I smiled when I walked into the living room. Lester and Dawn were curled up on the couch watching Spongbob and Dawn was explaining it to him.**

**"That's Spongbob." She pointed to the yellow thing on the screen. "And that's Patrick, he's not to smart but he's Spongbob's best friend. And that's Squidward. He's not very nice, but he's Spongbob's neighbor." Lester nodded along with everything the girl said. He looked so serious that I was sure that he would be taking notes if he had any paper handy.**

**Ranger was standing in the doorway, fully dressed and ready to go. How did he do that? He was watching the pair and he shook his head. Tank was the only one left in the kitchen. I pushed Ranger slightly and we moved into the other room.**

**"Where is everyone?" I asked.**

**"Getting the cars ready. We were just waiting for you."**

**"For me?" I said, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. Ranger and his boys operated on a level above me. About ten levels above me. The man in front of me grinned.**

**"Don't worry, you're not involved. Lester is you're partner today. Use him. I'll be home as soon as I can, but this might run pretty late." He kissed me and when he walked past me, I grabbed his hand to stop him.**

**"Which one?" I asked.**

**"Anders." I kissed him hard.**

**"Be careful." I whispered.**

**"Always, babe." He walked out and I realized that he hadn't made any promises. Tank followed him out and I looked up at him.**

**"Don't let him get hurt." I commanded Tank. He nodded seriously.**

**"It's not going to happen, girl."**

**I sat on the bar stool when the door closed. Anders was bad news. He was a high profile skip with a rap sheet as long as his history and he had quite the history. The man was ex military, Special Forces. He had a lot of deaths under his belt. I didn't like that Ranger was on this one, but he was the best. Who else would take it on?**

**"Don't worry. He knows what he's doing." Lester said from the doorway.**

**"Who knows what their doing?" Mia asked, coming down the hall.**

**"Patrick. He wants to work at that restaurant thingy." Lester replied smoothly.**

**"Spongbob, huh?" Mia chuckled, grabbing coffee.**

**"Oh, yeah. Stephanie was just worried that he wouldn't make it out alive, since he never works, you know? But I know that Patrick has some serious skills and he always gets things done."**

**"He's a lazy starfish." Mia frowned.**

**"He has a lot of potential." Lester winked at me then moved back to the living room.**


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I'm late in updating, sorry about that! As always, I'm not the Queen of the Plum-verse. That is solely Janet.

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"**Dawn! Come on, time to go!" Mia shouted next the couch. I cringed. It was too damn early and Mommy was in true form. Lester and I were crashed on the couch, watching Batman cartoons. They weren't bad, but not very true to the original character, in my opinion. Mia looked down disapprovingly at our sprawled forms, especially our feet on the coffee table. Bite me; it's barely six in the morning, which is four hours before I usually roll out of bed. I'm not in the mood, besides, whose apartment is this?**

"**Mom, can't I just stay here with Steph and Les? I don't want to go to school." **

"**Honey, you have to go to school. It's very important."**

"**Why?" I grinned at Dawn's straightforward question. This was probably what my mother put up with. Lester and I looked up at Mia with the same look Dawn had.**

"**Because it's the only way to get ahead in life. You need to learn all the important things." Mia looked a bit at a loss for how to say this.**

"**Steph can teach me how to be a bounty hunter. Then, I can catch the bad guys." Mia looked stricken at the thought. Her little girl a bounty hunter? Perish the thought. **

"**Hey, little girl, come here." I spoke softly to Dawn and gestured between me and Lester. She hopped between us. "Dawn, you have to go to school. It seems pointless now, but someday, you will have to be smarter than the bad guys and school is the only place to get those smarts, okay?" Dawn nodded reluctantly. "Now, go with your mom and stop giving her a hard time. She loves you, even if she is a pain, got it?" Another nod and she jumped down to get her coat.**

"**Well, that was easy." Mia frowned over at Dawn.**

"**Just try telling her the truth. It was the one thing my mom never did." **

"**All that about education and being smarter than the bad guys from a bounty hunter." She shook her head. I couldn't help it, I was offended. I'm tired of her acting like I'm a lesser person than she is because of my job. What gives?**

"**Yeah, a bounty hunter with two bachelor degrees." **

"**Why didn't you use them?" She challenged.**

"**It's my life. Why don't you quit your dangerous job and stay home with Dawn and keep Morelli's house?" I shot back and Mia seemed to think this was crossing the line. She broke off the lecture and walked out the door with her kid. I turned back to the cartoons, trying to hide my anger from the way too perceptive guy beside me.**

"**What did you go to school for?" He asked, nonchalantly.**

"**Business and psychology."**

"**Why didn't you go into business or something?" He kept his eyes on the screen, just like I did, but we weren't watching it anymore.**

"**I tried to and I failed at it, okay? That's how I fell into this shit."**

"**I dropped out of high school." He said after a moment, finally looking at me. "It was pointless compared to the shit I was facing outside of the classroom." I turned toward him, burning with curiosity to find out more, but the look on his face didn't welcome my questions. I just nodded, accepting him. We turned back to the TV with a mutual understanding. We watched cartoons for a while and I must have fallen asleep at some point because my ringing phone broke into a dream I was having about Andy and Deedra. I fumbled around for it and flipped it open without opening my eyes.**

"**Yo." I mumbled into the phone.**

"**Is this Stephanie Plum?" An old man asked in voice that sounded rather unused.**

"**Yes," I sat up, trying to place the voice. The sleeping Lester stirred a little and almost fell off the couch. **

"**You, uh, gave me your card. I saw some things and you told me too, uh, call if I saw something…?" His voice kind of petered out and I got the feeling that he wasn't really very sure of himself. **

"**The homeless guy?" I asked stupidly. Yes, not my brightest moment, but I'm tired.**

"**You gave me money," His voice was kind of off in its own little world. "I didn't want to look for that man, but you helped me. I was just going to ignore it, but when I saw him with that woman, I couldn't help it. I had to call you." I was definitely awake after that.**

"**You saw Monty Davis?" **

"**He pulled up in his car and drug a pretty lady out. She was fighting him and he hit her."**

"**Where are you?" I asked, grabbing for paper. **

"**I watched him go in after I finished eating. I don't like that he went into that place. That's a safe place. He can't just go there." **

"**Where did he go?" I was practically ready to beg him.**

"**That shelter is new. None of the other shelters are safe like that one. He can't just walk in there." The man went on muttering. I tried desperately to figure out where he meant. "I have to go now. The kitchen on Houston serves good toast and if I don't get there early, it will all be gone." **

"**Wait!" But he was already gone.**

"**What's up?" Lester asked when I flipped my cell shut.**

"**Monty Davis is still in the area…but I don't know where." I sighed and started grabbing my stuff.**

"**Where we going?"**

"**We are going to look around. How well do you know the North side?"**

*** * * * * * * ***

**We had been driving around for two hours and I still had no idea where the man had seen Monty at. I was frustrated, I was hungry and I was tired. Sue me, I'm feeling incredibly bitchy. I told Lester to find a place to eat.**

"**Yes, boss." He pulled up to a small diner that I hadn't seen on the right side of the street.**

"**You know this part of town pretty well, huh?" I was impressed, despite myself.**

"**I've work this area a lot." He shrugged and we swung out. Well, he swung out. I fell out. He hid his grin at my stumble and led the way in. It was a greasy spoon and it had no décor, but according to Lester, they had the best pancakes in Jersey.**

"**As long as you don't get their milkshakes, you're fine."**

"**Whatcha want?" A bored black woman poured us coffee and managed to look at us like we were the bane of her existence. Gotta love Jersey waitresses. **

"**Pancakes, two orders. Side of bacon. Hold the fries. Extra syrup. Extra juice." Lester rattled out and I stared at him until the waitress had left in her sulky way.**

"**Come here a lot?" I asked and he chuckled.**

"**We all do, even Ranger used to."**

"**What do you mean?" I leaned forward. Okay, I'm pathetic, but hearing about Ranger fascinates me. **

"**We used to have an office here in the North ward."**

"**Before Haywood?" **

"**Long before Haywood. That building is a recent addition."**

"**Where was your old office?" I was intrigued. I hadn't heard anything about the history of Ranger's company.**

"**Hmm…" Lester shook around his coordinates and pointed south. "Down the street about four blocks. We all still spend a lot of time in the area, like our home base." The waitress shoveled out the food and left without a word. "Actually, spending too much time at Haywood is bad for our image. No one knows about the building on the streets, but we used to be more connected, you know? We knew more about the criminals back then." He shrugged and dug into his food. I did the same. It was surprisingly good.**

**It was totally a coincidence that I looked out the window in time to see Lula's skip walking down the opposite street. She had been looking for Danny Kromanski for a few weeks and I had actually helped her on a few almost takedowns. He was pretty elusive. **

**I jumped up and ran for the exit without a plan. **

"**Yo, Steph!" Lester shouted, throwing some cash down and running after me. I stopped before I hit the door and he slid to a stop just behind me. I gave Lester the short of the situation. He nodded, looking almost like a little kid. He loved takedowns. Well, at least that made one of us.**

**We calmly stepped out the door and quietly crossed the street. We were about a block behind Kromanski, who was heading north. We silently jogged closer. He didn't notice that we were behind him until we were about a hundred feet from him. He started running and I chased him. Lester cut down a back alley and disappeared. Kromanski was way ahead of me when he turned a corner. I sped up and rounded the corner in time to watch Lester tackle him. He started to fight the smaller guy, but he was no match for the former street rat. Lester pinned him down and I dropped beside them and cuffed Kromanski. **

**Lester went to get the car while I sat on the sneaky perp and dialed Lula's number.**

"**You bitch." The prone man jerked around trying to move me off his back. I elbowed him hard.**

"**Hey, girl," Lula answered. "Kinda early."**

"**How bad to you want Danny Kromanski?" **

"**Enough to get out of my warm bed."**

"**Meet me at the 12th precinct and he's all yours."**

*** * * * * * * ***

**Lester and I finished the hand off. Before he started the pickup, he turned to me. **

"**You had trouble with that takedown." He stated. I blushed but before I could get defensive, he continued. "I know a place you can work out, maybe even learn a thing or two."**

"**I already take Tae Kwon Do three nights a week." I pointed out, trying not to get mad. He meant well, I think.**

"**But that's not enough. The other people that workout at your dojo probably don't have the high stress type of job you have. You need to be more prepared."**

"**I hate gyms."**

**He grinned. "Me too. But the place I have in mind is different."**

"**Oh?"**

"**Not sterile." He shrugged and started the cold truck but didn't put it into gear. "You can spar there with some of the Rangeman guys and we could teach you some stuff."**

"**Are you talking about the gym at Haywood?" I asked, ready to bulk. That gym was pretty sterile to me. He made a face.**

"**Heck, no. How about I take you there and you figure it out?"**

"**Where is it?"**

"**North side, of course." Lester grinned and motored out of the lot. **


	9. Chapter 9

**

* * *

**

The gym was about two blocks from the diner on Dotter. It looked like an old firehouse that had been under attack. Maybe it had. In this part of town, you never know. I hesitated on getting out of the truck, watching the building. I couldn't see inside but I had a feeling that it was full of people. What? You're never afraid of the unknown? Or heck, making a fool of yourself?

**I'm good at making a fool of myself and that fear has never stopped me from charging ahead blindly, but I was stressed out and I didn't feel like myself. Maybe it was just sharing space with Mia or that Deedra was in danger or that Andy was in the center of it all and that I had a protective instinct when it came to him. Maybe it was that I was dating a man that was in constant danger and it was better not to think about what he was doing at this moment. I'm the Queen of Denial but even I had to admit that something was off in Steph-land. My insides weren't jiving and my mood seemed to be set to bitchy. Whatever it was, it was making me hesitate.**

**"Really, beautiful, they don't bite." Lester was waiting patiently for my move. I had a crazy urge to whine to him and say something childish, like what if they don't like me? Or what if I'm not good enough? I fought the urge and since I was already fighting to ignore my instincts, I yanked open the door and did the whole charge ahead blindly thing. Lester caught up with me easily and led me in; neither of us said a word.**

**We walked up the front steps to the large brick building and he opened the heavy steel door, walking through first and leaving me to follow. We walked down a dark hallway that led to a large, open well-lit room. It seemed to be mostly lit by the huge windows all around the room. I stopped in the entrance and had to orient myself to all the activity. There was couple of thick mats along one side with a couple of men sparing easily on one of them. There was a three-lane track that ran around the large room and some weight machines on the far side. What drew my attention, along with most of the room was the boxing ring in the center of the room.**

**Two men were really going at it. They had wrapped knuckles with bare feet and it seemed like it was an anything goes match. I could distinguish some smooth martial arts in the smaller man's moves and I think the larger man must have been a boxer. He relied on his punches a lot and he put a lot of force into them.**

**"The small guy is Bobby Raven. He's a pretty good guy but he's too honorable when it comes to street fighting." Lester filled me in as we watched the men move. The littler guy was getting pounded, but he was quick to rebound.**

**"Too honorable?" Yes, I sparred and did the whole Tae Kwon Do thing, but I didn't know much about street fighting. It looked dirty, but both men still seemed to be following a discipline, Bobby Raven more than the other.**

**"He doesn't go in for the kill. He's still following the whole hurt but do no harm thing and Donny Masters doesn't care about ethics or his opponent. That's what makes him a good fighter and a total ass. He's just playing with Raven now." Judging by Lester's tone, I'd say he thought very little of Masters. The hurt but do not harm thing is a basic in most of the martial arts. It means that doing permanent damage is a no-no. Like, I could put painful pressure on someone's arm to defend myself, but breaking that arm crosses the line. From what I did know, in street fighting, anything goes. If you have to break someone's arm, then do what you have to do to win, because winning is sometimes the difference between life and death.**

**Guys all around the gym were shouting at the fighting pair. Some were cheering on Bobby, some were booing Masters and a few were shouting for him to just end the damn match. The two men continued circling. Bobby had blood flowing down his face from the last blow to his nose and he was stumbling around a little. Masters was covered in sweat and had a steady stream of blood flowing out of a cut on his cheek but he seemed to be much more coherent. He finally listened to crowd and sent the smaller man to the floor with a knock out punch. A couple of guys jumped in the ring to check out Bobby Raven and helped him out of the ring.**

**"You idiot! Do you always have to be a show hog?" An old black man jumped Masters when he hit the floor. The old man kept up the shouting as Masters moved to his bag and started wiping off the sweat. He pressed the sweaty towel to his bloody cut and turned to the old man with an insolent and uninterested gaze. "This is my gym, you will follow my rules. That was over the line." He ranted for a few more minutes then asked if Masters understood. The big man nodded and old man moved away. He spotted Lester and me and walked over.**

**"Lester!" He greeted him and shook his hand, clapping the other shoulder. "Good to see you." The old man's eyes light up when they fell on me. "And you brought your girlfriend!"**

**"No, no…" Lester waved his hands. "This is Stephanie Plum. Steph, this old coot is Gino Simmons."**

**"Just Gino." Gino offered me his hand and I took it with a smile. "I must say, I've heard a lot about the Bombshell Bounty hunter. Nice to finally meet ya."**

**"Heard from who?" I was close to wincing. I didn't know that the rest of Trenton was as knowledgeable about my blunders as the 'burg was.**

**"Oh, you know, the guys around here. The Rangeman crew has a lot to say about you." I elbowed Lester and he dodged me.**

**"That was some fight." I remarked, moving the focus. Gino shook his head and looked over his shoulder at Masters.**

**"He's a bully. He enjoys hurting other people."**

**"Is he Rangeman?"**

**"Nah, most of these guys aren't. Masters is an up and coming boxer that lives in the neighborhood. Gino lets him train here because he's friends with his manager."**

**"That's not going to last for long. From what I hear, Tom's ready to dump him because no one will take him. He has a reputation for fighting dirty." Gino shook his head and turned back to us. "So, what brings you here?"**

**"Steph needs place to workout." Lester said simply. Gino gave him a look that I couldn't begin to read. "Oh come on, Gino. She's Ranger's girl."**

**"That doesn't mean anything and you know it." Gino scowled back at him and I looked between the two. What? Women weren't allowed at Gino's gym?**

**"It's a stupid tradition and you know it isn't necessary."**

**"No can do, Lester, she has to fight or she can't get in."**

**"Fight?" I stared at the two in shock. What like a gang initiation or something?**

**"It isn't as bad as it sounds. You don't have to win, just show us what you've got. It's kinda a way to get over your stage fright, you know? Everybody does it." Gino tried to sooth me and Lester dropped his face to his palm. I looked around and realized that I had quite a few people's attention. Hunh.**

**"So, who do I have to fight in this joint?" I asked, trying to be brave. Inside, my organs were rearranging.**

**Gino looked at me regretfully. Uh oh. My stomach, which was around the area of my upper right lung, did a flip. The old man turned and looked over at Masters.**

**"Oh, hell no." Lester disagreed.**

**"He's the newest. Besides, the other guys wouldn't want to hurt her."**

**"That's a good thing, Gino." Lester glared.**

**"Lester, do her a favor and let her take this match." Gino grabbed me by the shoulder and guided me to the center of the room. He gave my shoulder a small squeeze before walking over to Masters and explaining it to him. I turned away from his malicious look, trying to figure out what I was doing. Lester walked beside me.**

**"You don't have to do this, girl." He said it in a low voice. My head was a little cloudy and my knees were about to start quaking, but I kinda sorta wanted to do this. Chalk it up to mild insanity, but I felt some confidence in my body that I hadn't had a year ago and I thought I was up to the challenge.**

**"I think I do." I shrugged but Lester could see my uncertainty. He went into coach mode, telling me that I could kick his butt and all that. Then, he started giving me some basics in street fighting. I was a little overwhelmed, but I think I must have absorbed his words.**

**"Look, girl, he's going to fight dirty and you can't just fight with a belt, okay? He's bigger but you have to have something he doesn't." Lester tapped the side of my head. "Be smart." I nodded as the others signaled that Masters was already up in the ring. I was trying desperately to remember the moves that Lester had told me and tried to ignore the strong need to run. I pulled my boots and socks off, noticing that he kept his socks on. I raised an eyebrow. I guess I wasn't much of a threat for him. Imagine that. Despite myself, I felt annoyance.**

**I climbed up into the ring and circled away from him. He followed and we moved around the thin mat. I was still getting my bearings when he punched me on the chin. I fell and against my basic instincts, I went limp so I didn't injure myself when I landed. I managed to stumble back to my feet unharmed because my opponent was walking around the ring, facing away from me. The jerk must have realized that the stupid chick that got in the ring with him was standing and back to circling, because he fell back into step with me.**

**He shot out another punch and this time I managed to block. He shot a kick to my shoulder and connected, but I rolled out of it before he struck me solidly. He went for another powerful swing and I kicked him in the stomach, effectively ducking back and pushing him back at the same time. He lost his breath and fell back into our circling.**

**Obviously, this had gone on to long for his ego. He rushed me, swinging. I ducked out a little and jabbed him in the throat with my four fingers on one side and my thumb digging into the other. He fell back a little and I caught sight of Lester. No fight was fair when your opponent meant to hurt you.**

**I kicked his lower thigh without remorse the next time he came back at me to try to take my head off, knowing exactly what would happen. Masters crumpled to the floor, shrieking. His knee popped out of place and when he came down on it, he must have torn quite a few muscles. He wouldn't be walking anytime soon, let alone fighting.**

**A couple of guys rushed onto the mat and tried to help the cussing boxer. I was surprised that he hadn't passed out yet. At first, he swung at them, then he seemed to lose some of his fight. He allowed the men to help him off and they disappeared. Probably to the hospital. I sat down on the mat in disbelief. I couldn't believe that I was here, let alone that I had just crippled a boxer. I felt pretty horrible, but my mind was clear for the first time in a month.**

**My jaw was throbbing and my conscience was digging at me, but I felt the endorphins rushing through my bloodstream, replacing the adrenaline. I stood shakily and stepped through the ropes. When I jumped down, Lester pulled me into a hug and swung me around. When I was back on my feet, Tank and Bobby were busy patting me on the back all three of them laughing. I grinned at their enthusiasm. I didn't wonder why they were there instead of on a takedown with Ranger until I turned around and came face to face with a grinning Ranger.**

**"Good work, babe." He tugged me into his arms and kissed the side of my head.**

**"When did you get here?"**

**"About the time you got knocked on your butt." He chuckled.**

**"You're still alive." I murmured, holding him tight. I hadn't thought about Anders for hours, trying to keep my overactive imagination from running away with me. He just held me tighter until the guys somehow pulled us apart, going on about me creaming Masters. I blushed and Ranger's cell phone started ringing. He pulled away from the group and I followed.**

**"Andy." He flipped the phone open. "Yo." There was a pause as he listened to Andy. "She's with me." He listened then held the phone out to me.**

**"Hey," I said in a shaky voice.**

**"Jeez, Steph, where are you?" He sound harried and I could here activity in the background.**

**"A, uh, gym. Where are you?"**

**"My office." Not only did he sound harried, he sounded like he was shook up.**

**"Does it always sound that hectic?"**

**"The police are here." He whispered. "I've been trying to call you for the last ten minutes."**

**"What's going on?" I had images of Andy being arrested.**

**"I found a body in my office."**

**"Shit, we'll be right there." I hung up. I grabbed my stuff and walked out with Ranger.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Andy's office was on the western part of the North side. It was about a dozen blocks from Stark, which ran down the center. The street had a few vacant lots, a few low rent apartments and a decent number of trees. It wasn't a bad street to spend time on and it was one of the safer parts of the North ward. **

**Ranger parked a block away since the law office had a couple of police cars in front and an ambulance, all with their lights off. I guess there wasn't an emergency here anymore. We watched the movement for a moment.**

"**Let's check this out." We got out of the black SUV and approached the scene. "I have an insider on the scene." He explained and I left him to do his thing. I had dated a cop for long time and my parents had always been upstanding citizens. Therefore, I was trying hard not to think about the fact that Ranger had just told me that he had an informant in a uniform. Sometimes, I just didn't want to know.**

**I walked through the front room. There was a body in the center of the floor in a partially zipped black body bag. It was a young black man in dirty clothes with some sort of jagged writing across the front of his dirty light shirt. It was mostly obscured by the bag. I shook myself and continued into the main office where Andy was sitting against his desk, pale and shaken, being interrogated by an unfamiliar black officer.**

"**You don't know that man?" The officer gestured to the dead body, either not noticing me or ignoring me.**

"**No, I've never seen him before." Andy answered softly.**

"**Does the writing mean anything to you, sir?" **

"**Well, it's kind of personal, isn't it?"**

"**Have you had any threats before this?" The officer's tone was grating on my nerves. He was treating Andy like he was a suspect or a hostile witness, not like a man in shock. My protective feelings for Andy were kicking in.**

"**No, none that were as direct as this. Some vague things here and there from angry clients. But my assistant went missing this week and I think that this must be connected."**

"**Would that be Deedra Jones?" The officer flipped through his notebook.**

"**Yes, and I haven't heard anything from the investigative officers."**

"**It's an ongoing investigation. Why would you think that that is related? They happened at different locations."**

"**This kind of stuff doesn't happen to me everyday." Andy said in an unusually dry tone.**

"**Is there anything else that you would like to add?"**

"**No." Andy crossed his arms.**

"**We'll be in touch. Thank you for your time." The officer left with a curt nod and Andy released his breath sharply. **

"**Damn," He dropped his head and rubbed his eyes. I stepped closer. He reached out and pulled me against his chest. He held me there for a while then loosened his arms. I squeezed him back then slid up and sat next to him on the desk. His office was rather plain. On one wall, there was a map of Trenton and a boring calendar turned to March. Against the opposite wall was a bookshelf filled with books and a plain Jane, industrial grey filling cabinet. Andy seemed to regain himself and leaned against me. "Thanks for coming. This all could be unrelated, you know? But I don't think it is."**

"**I would have come anyway." I pushed back against him.**

"**Where's our mysterious guy?" He asked.**

"**Outside, shaking down some cop." Andy turned his head sharply. "It's an informant." I answered his unspoken question like it was an ordinary situation. Honestly, it was increasingly normal. "The writing?" I turned to Andy.**

"**The killer wrote on the kid's chest. He told me to, 'End your fucking crusades or you're going to have more problems.'"**

"**That is personal." I murmured. Andy just nodded. "How many crusades are you on?" **

"**You think my projects have something to do with all of this?"**

"**Unless you've turned into a serial killer, it's my best idea."**

"**I have fifteen pending projects." Andy sighed and walked to the filing cabinet and pulled out the middle drawer. "And I have ten projects that are in construction and twenty-two projects that are open and complete." **

"**I'm going to need copies of those files."**

"**You got it. Anything else?"**

"**Would it be possible to have copies of the missing clients' files?"**

"**That would violate attorney-client privilege." He said thoughtfully. "But maybe I could give you the histories that I have gathered. That wouldn't be involved with the open cases." **

"**Fair enough. You need a ride home?" I asked, afraid to leave him alone for more than one reason.**

"**I would never say no to your company." He sent me a shaky smile, then started pulling files out and piling them. "And I would never deny you work experience, sis." He looked pointedly at the large pile of files that needed to be copied.**

"**Sure thing, boss. Just let me tell my partner where I'm going to be for the rest of the week." I rolled my eyes and walked out to find Ranger. He was standing outside watching the paramedics load the body bag. "Find anything out?"**

"**Yeah, I have a few things to follow up. How about we put our heads together over dinner?" **

"**Sounds like a plan. I'm going to make sure Andy gets home safe and help he get stuff organized around here. Sixish?"**

"**Make it sevenish and I'll bring the food." **

"**Pino's?"**

"**How about that new Mexican place?"**

"**Extra hot sauce." I stood up on the balls of my feet and kissed him. As I moved away, he caught my hand.**

"**Babe, about that fight." I looked back at him. "Proud of you." He rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand and let me go. I smiled and walked back into Andy's office feeling much better about myself. That man has a crazy effect on me.**

*** * * * * * * ***

**We got to the apartment building by 7:08. I got off at my floor and looked back at Andy and Mrs. Bestler. She had stood between us the whole way up. **

"**Ladies' undergarments, please proceed with caution." Andy looked at her with that crazy look. He didn't have much experience with our resident elevator attendant. **

"**I can't just leave you alone." We had had this conversation before.**

"**I'll be fine. Really, Steph."**

"**No way. Come on." I stood in between the doors to keep him from refusing me. This apartment building was built in the 70s and it wasn't exactly up to code. With these files in my arms, I really was taking my life in my hands since I'm fairly sure those safety things that stopped the doors hadn't be invented yet. The doors started to close and my smart friend decided not to risk my life. He pulled me out with him. I wasn't sure if he was trying not to laugh or scowl as we walked to my door. He took the stack of files from me so I could open the door.**

**I was met with mild chaos. The TV was turned to cartoons and there were blankets all over the floor with Dawn nestled in the middle. Mia was running around like a chicken with her head cut off looking for something and Ranger was nowhere to be seen. Not only that, my apartment was clean. No clutter, no dust, oh, boy. Andy stopped and stared.**

"**What happened to your apartment?" He asked in shock.**

"**Mia." I answered simply and had him put the files on the table.**

"**Heya, Steph. I almost gave up on you!" Mia Brookline stopped in front of me. Who would have thought that the hardened detective was also a domestic diva? It was surreal.**

**I forced a smile. "Hey, you've been busy."**

"**Oh, that. I was just tidying up a little when I got home. I felt like I needed to do something for you after all that you've done for me." She smiled and trotted off to do some magic somewhere else. I looked down at Dawn, who wiggled her fingers up at me then my eyes turned to Andy. He was standing in the dining room talking to someone. Hmm…either he is losing it or he found Batman's hideout.**

**I walked into the kitchen to find it spotless too. Jeesh. Rex was exploring his newly cleaned cage with enthusiasm that I hadn't seen in him for a while. Ranger was sitting on the freshly mopped floor with the cage next to him and his laptop running on his bent leg. I almost giggled with the thought of Ranger hiding from Brookline. He glared up at the two of us and Mia walked back down the hallway, telling me that she needed our clothes so she could run down to the basement and do laundry.**

"**There's a laundry room in the basement?" I whispered to Andy and Ranger. They both shrugged and Mia started calling for us again. **

"**Quick! Duck!" Andy fell silently down again one of the lower cabinets and I ducked down to rest between the two of them. It wasn't so bad really. Cozy and quiet. Just as the thought of food crossed my mind, my stomach growled.**

"**Ugh. Food." I dropped my head back and Andy snickered at me. I whacked him. "You're hungry, too. Admit it."**

"**Fridge, babe." Ranger said to my left, not raising his eyes from whatever he was typing. I crawled to the fridge and silently pulled out the still warm Mexican food. Andy grabbed three forks and Ranger shut the computer and set it on the floor, in front of Rex's tank. We ate and discussed the case.**

**With our combined knowledge, we knew that the victim was Raul Peters. He was from the Stark Street area. It was another case of generational poverty. He had the typical rap sheet and didn't have much of a history of legal employment. He had died sometime around noon and he had been placed at the scene when Andy was out of the office.**

"**So he was probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time?" I asked and Ranger confirmed. He had been thinking the same thing.**

"**All this to send me a message." Andy said in a sick to his stomach type way.**

"**Look, man, you can't be alone right now. We can't take the chance."**

"**I can't sleep on your couch. You have a full house." Andy pointed out to Ranger's warning. **

"**What's Marcus doing?" I asked.**

"**I'm not going to drag him into this. This city is too dangerous." **

"**Exactly." I grinned. He looked at me in confusion. Ranger caught on a lot faster.**

"**Maybe you should get out of town for a while." **

"**Right, I should go on vacation while someone is killing homeless people. How about the Bahamas? Oh, or I could use Mommy and Daddy's house in the Hampton's! How does that sound?" Sarcasm was dripping off his chin, I swear it.**

"**How about Staten Island?" I suggested.**

"**Oh, come on, Steph. No way! I'm not putting the Wrights in danger like that."**

"**Didn't you say that Marcus's dad was a cop?"**

"**So?"**

"**You are putting Marcus in danger by leaving him in the city." Ranger inserted reason into our soon to be all-out squabble. **

"**Damn, I hate when you do that." He looked at us. **

"**So, you're going?"**

"**I'll call Marcus and see if he is up to going home tonight. It's about an hour long drive."**

"**Wise choice." **

"**Don't push it, Leia."**


	11. Chapter 11

**The sun was barely up the next morning when I was shocked to consciousness. I wasn't alone in my bed and it wasn't my usual bedmate. I looked up at the fully dressed Dawn from where I had burrowed my head in the pillows and blanket. I gave the little girl a small smile and she snuggled in on the other side of the bed.**

"**What's up?" I whispered. I could hear Mia moving around in the rest of the apartment.**

"**I don't want to go to school." She whispered and burrowed in further. I threw the top bedspread over both of us and we ignored the day for a little while together. We listened to her mom moving around, cooking and doing other mommy-like things. Mia needed to get her life figured out. Fast. I loved Dawn (who wouldn't?) but I hated waking up early.**

*** * * * * * * * **

**It was a late night last night. Andy called Marcus while we ate and the deaf guy immediately agreed to take Andy to Staten Island. He was happy that Andy was going to finally meet his family, but worried for him too. You know, the whole good boyfriend thing. I was ready to kick Andy's butt for moving so slowly with him.**

**I don't really know what Andy and Marcus are. They are dating and there is obviously something there, but Andy is shockingly blind to that. He is so scared that he's going to get hurt, like Marcus is going to wake up one day and suddenly not feel anything for him. He either complains that since Marcus isn't really gay, maybe this is just a phase or that the guy is just playing with him and he will lose interest. I'm not good with the whole touchy feely thing. My family doesn't do emotions or hugs or stuff like that, so I may not be an expert, but anybody could see that Marcus adores Andy.**

**He is genuinely interested in my normally intelligent buddy and Andy needs to wake up and give him some credit. I have spent time with both of them and heard a lot about Marcus's huge and amazingly loyal family. His dad was a cop and his mom was a history teacher for the high school that Marcus and his three sisters attended, both retired. His sisters are all still in the city. One is married and pregnant just down the block from where she grew up. His middle sister lives in Manhattan and is a successful businesswoman with no personal life to show. The baby of the family lives in the Bronx and runs a community garden that employs the homeless and gives some of the proceeds to local soup kitchens and the rest is sold cheaply to area families. Doesn't that self-sacrificing thing sound familiar?**

**Andy, on the other hand, didn't share about his family. I knew that they were fairly wealthy and they lived in Chicago. That was about it. From his silence about the Carson family and his lack of confidence, I had to wonder if they had a very bad reaction to their son being gay.**

**Marcus and Star arrived at the apartment about the same time that Mia found our hiding place and called us pathetic. **

"**It's comfortable down there." I called over my shoulder as I walked to the door to let the hunk in. Marcus Wright gave me a hug and asked me at the same time how Andy really was. When he set me back down on my feet, I signed in my slow and painstaking way that Andy was holding up well, but I was sure that there he was having trouble with all of this. **

**Marcus signed patiently back that he would try to help him when they got away from Trenton. He was a fairly big guy with a nice body that he took care of. He knew his body well and he just had a confidence that made him attractive. Since he had grown up in a hearing family, he had adapted to them in many ways. He had learned the tricky and unreliable art of lip reading and his cell phone had a handy dandy attachment that told him what the speaker was saying. He had a sweet chocolate lab named Star that would let him know if someone knocked on his door or if the phone was ringing. Growing up, he had been taught a different type of sign language that was probably easier for older English-speaking people to pick up called Signed English, as opposed to the more common ASL (American Sign Language) which actually had a different grammatical structure from English. **

**He has been signing around me for 4 months and we both came to realize that I had a hard time learning ASL. I just didn't do French grammar. Andy and Marcus reverted to Signed English to help me learn and I was slowly getting the hang of it. Signing came in handy when I needed to communicate without making noise, such as when I'm talking to my best friend's deaf boyfriend about that friend in the hallway. **

**Andy needed to pack before the jaunt the Big Apple, so I went upstairs with him. Before I left the apartment, Ranger moved close on the pretense of kissing me and slipped a small gun into my jeans. He pulled my shirt around it and whispered, "Just in case."**

**I hate guns. I really do. I know that they are an essential part of my job, but I don't like having mine with me. I usually keep mine in the cookie jar beside the sink. Mostly it's because I'm sure that I'm going to pull a Barney Fife and shoot myself in the foot, but it's also partly a fear of the weapon itself. I've killed with that gun and though all of those deaths had been in self-defense, they didn't necessarily sit well with me. My boyfriend didn't have the same qualms. Ex Rangers usually didn't. **

**I followed Andy up and helped him throw his stuff in a bag. He was unusually silent through all of this.**

"**Alright, what's up?" I asked. He sat down on the bed, his head and his shoulders slumped. **

"**I can't do this, Steph." He murmured. "I really can't. They're going to hate me."**

"**Why on earth would they hate you? You're great."**

**He looked up at me in frustration. "Steph, Marcus has never had a boyfriend."**

"**So?"**

"**He's had a lot of girlfriends." Andy stressed this like it was important. "I mean, a lot."**

"**I'm not following." I really wasn't. What did it matter if he had been with a million girls before Andy? He was with Andy now and he cared about him. I was pretty sure Marcus wasn't the type to cheat.**

"**Steph, it looks like I turned their only son gay. Not only that, but he's never been with a guy before at all. He's a straight guy who has never thought about being with a guy before he met me." I sighed and sat down beside him. I didn't know how to reassure him or which concern to start with. **

"**Alright, first of all," I turned so I was facing Andy and I took his hands. I was preparing for one of my rare and awkward touchy feely talks. Only for Andy.**

"**You are a great guy. How many times do I have to tell you that before it sinks in? You're incredibly smart, incredibly sweet and amazingly successful. How many guys have done what you have by the time they're 25? You have your own law practice in a city that's wrapped around your finger." He smiled slightly. Okay, maybe I was getting somewhere.**

"**Andy, Marcus and his family don't sound like fools, but if they don't absolutely adore you then they are out of their minds. What does it matter if you're gay? It's the twenty-first century. People are starting to understand that so much better. Hell, it's practically mainstream now."**

"**But Marcus isn't gay."**

"**He's never made you any promises with it, but just because every guy doesn't turn him on doesn't mean you don't or that he cares any less about you. Honey, that boy is crazy about you. He doesn't try to hide that and he wants to share you with his family."**

"**And it might not work out."**

"**But it might. Just give them a chance, they may surprise you. And you can always call if you need some comfort." He nodded and squeezed my hands. **

"**I'll give it a shot. I promise." He pulled me close and rested his chin on the top of my head. "I didn't know Princess Leia had these skills."**

"**She learned them from her Jedi brother."**

"**He must be really in touch with himself."**

"**Comes with the training."**

*** * * * * * * ***

**Dawn snuggled closer and I must have dozed back off, because when Mia flung the door open, she scared the shit out of me.**

"**Cripes, Mia!"**

"**Dawn, it's time for school."**

"**Aw, Mom!" **

"**No arguing, come on. Time for breakfast."**

"**I have food?" I was half-asleep, but I was pretty sure that the fridge had been pretty empty yesterday morning. **

"**I went shopping yesterday, Steph. I can't believe that you live like this."**

"**I've been busy." I yawned. Dawn climbed off the bed and Mia moved to let her out.**

"**I made breakfast for you, too." She said in a softer voice and pulled the door closed as she left. I made a trip to the bathroom and made sure that I was presentable. It would do. I trudged into the dining room and sat down across from Dawn with a yawn. Mia set scrambled eggs and toast down in front of me. I hadn't had scrambled eggs since I lived at home. I thanked the cook and started eating. Mia sat down beside her daughter and flipped open the paper. I smirked and wondered if she had bought it too or if she had stolen it from the neighbor across the hall like I did when I needed a paper. For some reason, I had a feeling that she had actually paid money for it.**

**My egg-covered fork was halfway to my mouth when I saw the screaming front cover. It read: COMPANY TRIES TO CLEAN UP NORTH TRENTON. Gee, that was quite the coincident. **

"**Um, Mia, can I see that?" I asked in a slightly strangled voice.**

"**Sure, kiddo." She handed me the paper and in the same move checked out her watch. "I've got to go anyway. Ready, Dawn?" The little girl nodded reluctantly and the two went off to start their days. I flipped the paper over and started reading the story.**

_**AP TRENTON- Crislon Incorporated, a rising superstar in the business world, has been making the East Coast its home base for the last decade while it built its vast empire overseas. Trenton has been selected to be the newest site of construction. The manufacturing company has promised to build factories and office buildings in the infamous North ward of Trenton, thus cleaning up decades of decay. **_

**The story went on to talk about the history of the North side and the riots. It never mentioned what Crislon Inc. manufactured or the extent of their contract. I decided that I needed more research. Lucky for me, I knew a guy with a really good computer. I flipped through the paper to see if there was anymore about the company. The only interesting stories that I could find was one on trial of Con De Luca and another about the rising crime rate in the North side. **

**Constantine De Luca was a major crime boss for the Botticelli crime family. He was up for attempted murder. His wife, Angel, went missing about six months ago. Everyone in Trenton except De Luca knew that she was seeing other guys in a social way. When she disappeared, most people assumed that she skipped town, but Con De Luca suspected foul play and went into a rage. He nearly took his brother's head off with a bat because his brother had been telling him for years that she wasn't true and he was sure that Leo had finally done something to her. She still hadn't been found, dead or alive.**

**I flipped through the story on the rising crime rate and found out nothing that I didn't already know. The crime rate was on the rise. It had been for the last 40 years.**

**I went to the bathroom and got ready to go to Haywood. I needed Batman. Gee, who saw that coming? I've needed his help since I started this job.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I drove to the Rangeman office building on Haywood. It was a seven story building on a quiet, non-descript street. It had been my troublesome curiosity that had brought me to this building in the first place. Ranger, being Ranger, had loaned me his truck before he went out of town and before he knew that I had fallen in bad with a gang called the Comstock Slayers. I had been living with Morelli and loaning my apartment to my sister and her two kids at the time and somehow I got myself too angry at Joe to continue sharing a house with him. Since I'm allergic to kids (and my sister) as much as I love them, I was planning on sleeping in the truck. I mean, I couldn't exactly drag myself to my parents' house when I had a $10,000 hit on my head, now could I?**

**Instead, I discovered the GPS was on and I tracked the truck back to Haywood. I used the key fob and lived in Ranger's apartment on the seventh floor in secret for a week before Ranger came home and discovered me sleeping in his bed and in his shirt. Naturally, I didn't realize that the whole building, besides the apartments, had cameras and everyone knew I was there the whole week. Gotta love security guys.**

**I had originally thought that this was the Batcave. When I asked Ranger, he had laughed at that and told me that the Batcave was forever. Heavy implications there, huh? He actually threw a secret ball for me last Halloween and introduced me to the Batcave. It was so secret that I was the only person at the ball that knew who owned the mansion or who the host was. As everything about Ranger, it didn't disappoint. It was a beautiful, mysterious mansion that would take a year to fully explore.**

**The control room was on the fifth floor, along with the offices. I walked through main area, talking to the guys I knew and waving to the ones I recognized. Ranger's door was open. I tapped and walked in and sat down in front of him.**

**"Joe and Mia have to work this out." I flopped back exhausted and he sent me a mega watt grin.**

**"From what I've heard, she's not talking to Joe at work."**

**"Well, I don't see him outside with a boom box on his head wooing her back."**

**"There's only one John Cusack, babe." I blinked at him. He actually got my silly Say Anything joke. Hmm…**

**"Whoever is at fault and being frigid, I still have to get Mia out of the apartment. I love her and all, but she's killing me."**

**Ranger seemed to be willing to leave it up to me to fix my ex's love life. Fair enough.**

**"You know anything about this?" I asked and set the paper on the desk in front of him.**

**"I've heard of Crislon. The CEO is a shark, babe."**

**"Think it could be connected?"**

**"Anything's possible." He turned to his computer and started typing. I moved to sit on the desk beside him. He was doing a full background search on Crislon and the CEO, a one Jack Elliot.**

**"How about you bring the results back tonight and I'll fill you in on Andy's many projects? I have a stack to go through." He just nodded and focused on his reading.**

**"Hey," I tilted his head back with my first two fingers. "Don't work too hard." I kissed him and left the office, knowing that he was grinning at his computer now.**

*** * * * * * * ***

**I debated the intelligence of my next move all the way to the police station. I parked in front, quickly shut off the car and jumped out before I thought about what an idiot I was being.**

**Vice was in the back of the station and Joe's desk was close to the back of the room. Lucky for me and unlucky for him, he was sitting at his desk, working on some paperwork. I drew up beside his desk and he raised his eyes slowly.**

**"Hey, cupcake." He pulled on a half grin and leaned back in his chair.**

**"Yo, Joe, we need to talk." He sighed and fell forward.**

**"What's on your mind?"**

**I looked around. It felt too public for me. "Let's get out of here."**

**"How about Pino's?" Trust me, it is an Italian thing. Pino's was an addiction.**

**"Sounds good. I'll drive."**

**Since it was only about eleven, Pino's was pretty empty. We found a booth in the back and sat down facing each other. We ordered subs and I searched how I was feeling. I was surprised that I felt no regret sitting across from him. No feelings of what if. He felt like an old friend, not an old flame. I didn't feel any sparks and I could tell from how he was sitting there, that he certainly wasn't thinking about jumping my bones. It was the end of an age, I guess. Sad, but sometimes the change is better than the original.**

**"You need to talk to Mia, Joe."**

**"Steph, stay out of it."**

**"She's staying at my apartment."**

**He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I know. I heard. She doing okay?"**

**"Mia's a fighter, Joe. She's not mopping if that's what you're asking."**

**"How about Dawn?" He looked up, truly interested.**

**"She's doing okay. She has this thing about not wanting to go to school and she misses you, but she's fine."**

**He smiled slightly, looking down. "That missing school thing is kinda my fault. She overheard me telling Mia that I hadn't gone to college. You know, I went Navy and all. She's been on a kick ever sense that she doesn't have to either. I think school's tough for her."**

**"She's so smart."**

**"Too smart, I think. She's bored, but there might be more to it than that. I picked her up from school last week and one of my Cousin Jody's boys was picking on her. Maybe she's getting bullied, Steph."**

**"I'll talk to her."**

**"Thanks." He swallowed a lump. "The house feels so empty without them, you know? Bob is moping. He kinda became Dawn's sidekick." He smiled and shook his head. "Those two, they got in a lot of trouble together." Our subs came and we sat quietly for a few minutes, eating and thinking.**

**"You're an ass, Joe."**

**"I know."**

**"Do you? Don't you dare blame Mia for moving out. There's only so much abuse one person can take."**

**"There wasn't anything I could do, Steph. She overreacted with Grandma Bella."**

**"Oh, grow a pair, Joe! You didn't help me out with her and you're letting her drive Mia away too. Worse, you're letting her attack Dawn."**

**"She's just an old lady, cupcake."**

**"She's vicious and you let her hurt the girls you obviously love. Who do you think is probably starting that bullying for Dawn? She's a bitch, Joe. I know you love her, but if you care about Mia and Dawn at all, you'll help them."**

**"They're my family, Stephanie." He glared across at me.**

**"You asked Mia to be your family. Does that only count when the Morelli's approve?" I spoke softly, but there was an edge to my words. He sagged a little and nodded.**

**"Alright, I'll talk to Mia."**

**"Good."**

**"I need them back, Steph."**

**"Then, you better be there for them."**

A/N: I'm borrowing from Janet and you all know it. Let's move on...

In case you didn't pick up on that, kicking Joe Morelli's butt wasn't necessarily physical. Thanks!

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